Tag Archives: Suikoden

Train2Game News Suikoden II Orchestral CD Kickstarter goal reached

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On Sep. 3, 2018, the re-launched Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign for a new orchestral CD recording featuring music from “Suikoden II” had reached its funding goal.

The campaign, was hosted by VGM Classics (NM, USA), a classical record company specializing in video game music. The campaign now aims for stretch goals for more music by September 20, 2018.

Suikoden II
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vgmclassics/suikoden-ii-an-orchestral-cd-2cd-0

“Suikoden II” is a role-playing video published by Konami for the PlayStation system in 1998. The original music was based on orchestral and ethnic sounds that reflected the many cultures and feelings that permeated the story.

The funding goal of the campaign was US$15,000 in an all-or-nothing format, and the campaign sets two stretch goals at $27,500, and at $40,000 for more music by September 20, 2018.

VGM Classics has invited the award-wining composer/conductor Kentaro Sato to be its music director to oversee and direct the recording. Mr. Sato is the orchestral and choral mastermind behind such video game titles as the “DISSIDIA Final Fantasy” series. The prospective orchestra for the project is the Budapest Symphony Orchestra (Budapest, Hungary).

VGM Classics expects that its projects not only will fulfill the wishes of game music lovers, but also will contribute to the advancement of musical art and culture at large.

For two other current Kickstarter projects by VGM Classics, please visit at:

Star Fox 64 (aka, Lylat Wars)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vgmclassics/star-fox-64-lylat-wars-an-orchestral-cd-64cd

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentina https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vgmclassics/fire-emblem-echoes-an-orchestral-cd-cd

Train2Game News Suikoden II Orchestral CD

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On Aug. 29, 2018, the re-launched Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign for a new orchestral CD recording featuring music from “Suikoden II” had reached 2/3 of its funding goal.

The campaign, which started on August 14, was hosted by VGM Classics (NM, USA), a classical record company specializing in video game music.

Suikoden II
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vgmclassics/suikoden-ii-an-orchestral-cd-2cd-0

“Suikoden II” is a role-playing video published by Konami for the PlayStation system in 1998. The original music was based on orchestral and ethnic sounds that reflected the many cultures and feelings that permeated the story.

The campaign aims ultimately to raise US$15,000 in an all-or-nothing format by September 20, 2018.

VGM Classics has invited the award-wining composer/conductor Kentaro Sato to be its music director to oversee and direct the recording. Mr. Sato is the orchestral and choral mastermind behind such video game titles as the “DISSIDIA Final Fantasy” series. The prospective orchestra for the project is the Budapest Symphony Orchestra (Budapest, Hungary).

VGM Classics expects that its projects not only will fulfill the wishes of game music lovers, but also will contribute to the advancement of musical art and culture at large.

There are two additional crowd-funding campaigns.

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vgmclassics/fire-emblem-echoes-an-orchestral-cd-cd

Suikoden II
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vgmclassics/suikoden-ii-an-orchestral-cd-2cd-0

Train2Game News Suikoden coming to PSN

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Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. has responded to a huge online campaign to bring back its popular Suikoden role-playing series, and will re-release the ever-popular Suikoden and Suikoden II titles digitally via PlayStation Network in January 2015.

Both games are regarded as some of the best role-playing titles for home systems, with Suikoden originally released for PlayStation® in 1997 and Suikoden II was released across Europe for the same format in 2000. They form the first two installments of the six-game series, With Suikoden following an unlikely hero as he attempts to locate the 108 Stars of Destiny that are needed to free his homeland.

Suikoden’s hero, who can be named by the player, is the son of the Great General, Teo McDohl. With his Father summoned to the front in Northlands, the player begins the game undergoing guard training in Gregminster. Via an old friend, the player is charged with protectingthe Rune of Life and Death; one of the 27 runes that govern the world, and which lead the hero to flee the capital. He duly encounters a rebel organization and embarks on a mission to find the Stars of Destiny – comrades needed to restore peace to the land, and to save the home they love.

Suikoden II centres on an orphan called Hero, his friend Jowy and his orphan sister, Nanami. This unlikely trio find themselves in the middle of a war between the Highland Kingdom and the City States. Thus, the three heroes embark on a journey that will question their preconceptions of life, society and war as they gather the famed 108 Stars of Destiny, initially introduced in the first game.

Together, the friends will face potentially life-and-death decisions that force the player to make tough choices, while the game’s celebrated story takes twists and turns and develops based on the decisions made. The trio will also be forced to go into battle as they progress, with combat consisting of a dynamic battle style where multiple team members or enemies can attack simultaneously. Suikoden II also offers players a unique magic rune and skills system that encourages players to perform combat moves with strategy in mind.

Some 18 years after the first game’s launch, Suikoden and Suikoden II are still regarded as two of the greatest role-playing games for home formats. Both will be released via the new PSOne Classic games collection in January for PlayStation 3. Release date and price will be announced soon.

“It is a testament to the content and quality of the Suikoden series that fans still talk about it, some 18 years later,” commented Shinji Hirano, President of Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. “We have received countless requests to revisit the series, so are delighted to be able to satiate its fans with these digital editions of the first two games. We hope people enjoy returning to the world of Suikoden, and that maybe its clever mechanics and engrossing story wins it a new fanbase.”

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 09.08.13

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Call of Duty Black Ops IIIt’s the end of the week and time for the industry news round up!

The epic climax of Activision and Treyarch’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II Downloadable Content (DLC) Season Pass culminates with Apocalypse. Available first on the Xbox Live online entertainment network from Microsoft on August 27, the game’s fourth and final DLC Pack delivers four thrilling, diverse multiplayer maps and the all-new wildly creative Zombies experience – “Origins”. In addition one of my favourite bands, Avenged Sevenfold, will be again lending their musical talent to the game with their song, Shepherd of Fire, from their upcoming album Hail to the King, featuring in the opening cinematic.

Marvelous Games, the European division of the Harvest Moon publisher MarvelousAQL, has today unveiled more details on RunBot – the first title to emerge from the recently announced five-game publishing agreement with Touch Racing Nitro developer Bravo Game Studios. Due for release worldwide on iOS on August 22nd, RunBot is a brilliant Parkour/freerunning twist on the endless runner genre, offering phenomenal 3D visuals across a constantly evolving course.

Sources say that Amazon is working on producing its own android based games console, for release later this year possibly around the US thanksgiving season. There’s no real news about what the console will consist of, other than ‘it’s coming’, but given that Amazon has a pretty healthy stock of games and a download service already in place, it could already be one up on the Ouya, whose exclusive developers have been struggling to turn a profit on the system.

The Suikoden Revival Movement has launched the next phase of its campaign entitled ‘Operation Blinking Mirror.’ Between December 10 and December 12, 2013, the Suikoden Revival Movement will be inundating Konami Japan with Suikoden-related paraphernalia such as letters, artwork, cosplay photographs and sculptures. Operation Blinking Mirror – an ode to a teleportation device found throughout the series – has launched its own Facebook page where fans can find out more.

Finally videos have surfaced from Microsoft and Sony unboxing the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. You can view the Xbox One – here and the PlayStation 4 – here.

Train2Game News: Suikoden Revival Movement founder comments on the campaign

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SuikodenLast Month, Train2Game News brought you the news of the Suikoden Revival Movement. This is a collection of fans trying to bring the Suikoden series back. Founding member Chris Holmes talks about the campaign.

“The Suikoden Revival Movement started last year when myself, Ryan and Matze (other founding members) decided it was time to go more global. We all met on the Suikosource.com forums, which is one of the last great bastions of Suikoden fandom.

“However, all this campaigning started back in 2010 on Suikosource with myself and Ryan trying to convince the other members of our plans. (We) had some good conversations with Konami but, eventualy, it became clear that we could not go any higher up their chain of command.

“Attempting this as a single person became increasingly difficult. So, with the help of Matze, we decided to solidify our plans as the Suikoden Revival Movement and attempt to reach Konami en masse with much larger numbers. Thus, the SRM was born in 2012.”

This sort of movement can be slow and painstaking, especially when up against a company as big as Konami. This hasn’t stopped Chris from seeing some success however ”Back in 2011, we were offered an official Konami Facebook Fan Page by Konami US,” Holmes said. “We have tried to chase this up numerous times, however, but it always leads to dead ends. We continue to pursue this. Besides Konami US giving the thumbs up of recognition to our campaigning numerous times on Facebook, we have not had too much official recognition since the SRM was born last year.

“Konami UK, however, are currently looking into why Suikoden II has not yet been released on the PSN. Konami EU have also responded pleasingly to the rather large package we sent of all the fan work from SUIKODEN DAY 2012.”

Holmes explained that he personally contacts members of Konami globally on a weekly basis via LinkedIn. Holmes is keen to get his voice heard and has bent the ears of  quality assurance testers, executives and everyone else in between; anyone who’ll listen. “As a group, the SRM did have weekly (and then monthly) campaigns. This entailed gathering our thousands of members and asking them to plea with Konami (regarding specific goals) via Facebook, Twitter, E-mail and letter.

“Since we have had responses from Konami US and EU, these group campaigns have been put on hold for the moment. But rest assured, we have many plans for future campaigns! We are currently thinking up strategies to move the group campaigning towards Konami Japan, which is probably the most important thing we can do. This is our next big move.”

Holmes spoke of the desire of the fan base – one which now has garnered nearly 11,000 Facebook followers – and whether or not there was enough support to satisfy the effort of campaigning. “I spent over a year analysing the situation and the fan base of Suikoden in the West. Was there enough support? Are the numbers still there? Is the passion still there? Eventually, I decided, yes. And since the SRM’s inception, its just went from strength to strength. Its been great to see it all come together.”

Although still a long way from their goal, Holmes is determined to continue the good fight. ”It is still early days and there is much to do. We need as much support as we can get. If you can, then please spread the word to your friends, family and fellow Suikoden fans! Even if you don’t have time for campaigning, a simple click of the ‘like’ button will do!”

Last Month, Train2Game News brought you the news of the Suikoden Revival Movement. This is a collection of fans trying to bring the Suikoden series back. Founding member Chris Holmes talks about the campaign.

“The Suikoden Revival Movement started last year when myself, Ryan and Matze (other founding members) decided it was time to go more global. We all met on the Suikosource.com forums, which is one of the last great bastions of Suikoden fandom.

“However, all this campaigning started back in 2010 on Suikosource with myself and Ryan trying to convince the other members of our plans. (We) had some good conversations with Konami but, eventualy, it became clear that we could not go any higher up their chain of command.

“Attempting this as a single person became increasingly difficult. So, with the help of Matze, we decided to solidify our plans as the Suikoden Revival Movement and attempt to reach Konami en masse with much larger numbers. Thus, the SRM was born in 2012.”

This sort of movement can be slow and painstaking, especially when up against a company as big as Konami. This hasn’t stopped Chris from seeing some success however ”Back in 2011, we were offered an official Konami Facebook Fan Page by Konami US,” Holmes said. “We have tried to chase this up numerous times, however, but it always leads to dead ends. We continue to pursue this. Besides Konami US giving the thumbs up of recognition to our campaigning numerous times on Facebook, we have not had too much official recognition since the SRM was born last year.

“Konami UK, however, are currently looking into why Suikoden II has not yet been released on the PSN. Konami EU have also responded pleasingly to the rather large package we sent of all the fan work from SUIKODEN DAY 2012.”

Holmes explained that he personally contacts members of Konami globally on a weekly basis via LinkedIn. Holmes is keen to get his voice heard and has bent the ears of quality assurance testers, executives and everyone else in between; anyone who’ll listen. “As a group, the SRM did have weekly (and then monthly) campaigns. This entailed gathering our thousands of members and asking them to plea with Konami (regarding specific goals) via Facebook, Twitter, E-mail and letter.

“Since we have had responses from Konami US and EU, these group campaigns have been put on hold for the moment. But rest assured, we have many plans for future campaigns! We are currently thinking up strategies to move the group campaigning towards Konami Japan, which is probably the most important thing we can do. This is our next big move.”

Holmes spoke of the desire of the fan base – one which now has garnered nearly 11,000 Facebook followers – and whether or not there was enough support to satisfy the effort of campaigning. “I spent over a year analysing the situation and the fan base of Suikoden in the West. Was there enough support? Are the numbers still there? Is the passion still there? Eventually, I decided, yes. And since the SRM’s inception, its just went from strength to strength. Its been great to see it all come together.”

Although still a long way from their goal, Holmes is determined to continue the good fight. ”It is still early days and there is much to do. We need as much support as we can get. If you can, then please spread the word to your friends, family and fellow Suikoden fans! Even if you don’t have time for campaigning, a simple click of the ‘like’ button will do!”

Train2Game News: Bring Back Suikoden!!

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SuikodenIf you are a fan of the game saga, Suikoden, created by Konami, then this could potentially be fantastic news!

Fans of the RPG series Suikoden are desperate to see their beloved games revived, taking to Konami’s various social network outlets to politely ask for its return.

A group, founded on fan-site Suikosource and named Suikoden Revival Movement (SRM), draws inspiration from the Operation Rainfall movement, formed in 2011, which saw fans successfully campaign for three Wii titles (Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, and Pandora’s Tower) to be localised and brought to the US. Citing poor marketing as one of the main reasons behind Suikoden’s recent hiatus, SRM’s ultimate goal is to pressure Konami into “bringing the Suikoden series back to its former glory – or even better – to new glory.”

Suikoden is a role-playing video game series originally created by Yoshitaka Murayama. The game series is loosely based on the classical Chinese novel, Shui Hu Zhuan by Shi Naian and Luo Guanzhong.

Each individual game in the series centers around relative themes of politics, corruption, revolution, mystical crystals known as True Runes and the “108 Stars of Destiny”—the 108 protagonists who are loosely interpreted from the source material.

Though the Suikoden games follow an irregular chronological sequence of events, the entire series takes place within the same world among continuing and overlapping histories. In some cases, several characters appear in multiple installations.

The most recent Western numbered instalment of the series, Suikoden V, was released in 2006 for PS2; the series failing to make an appearance at at all in this generation.

Since its inception in July last year the Suikoden Revival Movement has garnered a large following, accumulating well over 10’000 followers on Facebook. Thus far, Konami have only offered two “small responses”, but the enthusiasm of SRM doesn’t appear to have waned, as they continue to press Konami on a weekly basis for a revival of the series, or at the very least to make all titles available on PSN and XBLA.

It’s a great example of gamers pulling together and working as a community. It is a cause that I am strongly behind and if you want to join in with the revival you can by visiting the Suikoden Revival Movement Facebook page or following them on Twitter.

If you have played the game before, view the video below for some nostalgia. If you haven’t played it before you can get a feel for the game in the video for Suikoden 2